knife question

Many choices, A good 7 inch chef knife for veggies. This site is good,


http://www.cadcutlery.com/cooks.htm They are frequently used by chefs in restauirants and many meat markets use them. Do you have a friendly butcher. Garage sales sometimes have deals.

Ken Onion if you wish to blow the budget. They have a nice handle taqng grip.

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/shun_onion.htm

Do you have a Williams and Sonoma near you? They have very pricy knives but will let you try the feel..How it feels in your hand is the most important part of the deal IMHO.


I have 5 Henkle 4 stars that I bought 15 or so years ago and they are great.

You mean to tell me you do your prep work with a steak knife? :blink: -RP

http://www.chadwrites.com/

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=26036

first link is to a chad wards website on the right clic buy the book.. lots of info , good book and i met him once nice guy ..all you need to know and more about buying and caring for your knives.

second link is to the e gullet article that spawned the book it is about shapening..

forschner knives are a good value and made [i believe by victornox now?] whustof makes a wonderful knife.. but if you really want sharp japanese steel is the way to go,, it can be expensive and the require careful handling///

regardless do not get sucked into the huge mega set..
3 knives to start an 8 or 10 inch chefs, a small paring knife and a serrated bread slicer.. they do not have to all be the same brand . back to paying the bills

Chubby is EXTREMELY CORRECT.

GET OUT AND PUT HAND TO KNIFE...

balance and feel is more important than brand for the most part.

Once you get into the higher end knives such as Wustof, Shun, Henkle, Kyrocera etc... they all will perform very well and the right "fit" is what you need.

Learn how to use a knife in the kitchen is important as well. You can have the most expensive knife on planet earth and do nothing more than cut off your digits if you are not careful. Good Luck!

http://lifehacker.com/software/how-to/chop-vegetables-like-a-pro-329229.php

http://busycooks.about.com/od/howtocook/a/kitchenknife.htm

Susan:

I use Wustoff Knives exclusively. They are a bit pricey however I had some of mine for 30 years. The knife in your picture is a serrated knife and is used to cut hard outer shell type foods i.e bread muffins etc. I recommend a 7" Santoku, a 12" meat slicing knife, 3" parer, and a 6" serrated all purpose to start. I have over 15 Wustoff knives and love them all. Do not run your knives through the dishwasher and keep them in a knife block. You may also want to get a "sharpening steel" which is nothing more than a dresser. I think it would almost be impossible to dress a briskett, pork butt, ribs, or spatchcock a chicken without good knives.

Here is the most bang for your buck. Chef's Knife - Forschner (Victorinox) Fibrox 8-inch, #40520. It'll cost you about $25.00. Santoku Knife - Mac Superior, It cost about $55.00. Boning Knife - Forschner (Victorinox) Fibrox #47513. Cost $17.00. These are really good knives and I feel you can't go wrong with these. You can pay $130.00 bucks or so for an Henkels, or a Wusthof chef's knife and I'm sure they're worth the money. Just depends on how deep you want to dig into the pocket.

Well, you've gotten all the answers. Now just try to put them together and make some sense out of them. My wife bought me a set of Cutco knives a few years back and for a knife I had never heard of, they have been great. Since then I have found out that Cutco knives are indeed very good knives. What I have also found out is that there is no such thing as a bargain knife. I have a couple of Henckels and the expensive Henckel is indeed a good knife and the cheap Henckels are indeed cheap knives. COnsider also what knives you will use. An 8" or 10" chef's knife is very nice but since acquiring a good 8" Santoku, I use it almost exclusively. I find that a good boning knife is essential when I want to bone a chicken or even a piece of beef. A good sharp paring knife is also quite useful. Nothing can beat a good serrated edge knife for slicing tomatoes. Finally, I had never had a decent one so I never knew how useful a cleaver can be. If you want to whack apart 50 lbs of chicken wings, a good sharp cleaver makes it quick and simple. My vote? Go to the store talk to someone knowledgeable about knives (two simple questions to determine: 1) Tell me the difference between honing and sharpening. If he/she tells you they are the same thing, find someone else. 2) Tell me about the different types of steel used in China versus Japan versus Germany. If she/he doesn't tell you to avoid Chinese knives, find someone else.) Feel the knife in your hand and be prepared to pay $50 and up for a good knife. Do not get convinced to buy a complete set for $59.99. Buy one knife at a time (and a honing steel as well with the first knife). My own suggestion for an order to buy knives if you cannot buy all at one time:
1) An 8" Santoku
2) a paring knife
3) a boning knife
4) a 10" chef's knife
5) a serrated slicer
6) a cleaver
There are other knives that you might like as well. I have a vegetable slicer that I never use now. However, you might think it is better than a serrated slicer.

Then take good care of your knives.
1) Keep them where the blades do not touch. A knife block is nice but if you must keep them in a drawer, keep blade guards on.
2) When done, wash with warm water, dry and put back up. Do NOT ever put a knife in the dishwasher or even put it away wet to dry in a dish rack.
3) Use the steel to keep the edge on your knives.
4) Once a year (or when you notice that the steel is not getting it sharp) have your knives professionally sharpened. Typically, trying to do this yourself, results in a ruined knife. Some knives come with a lifetime guarantee. Return it to them and they will sharpen it. If so, take advantage of it.
5) Respect your knife. It will make your life easier but it can also cause some serious injuries if not used properly. A sharp knife is - well - sharp. It will cut you as easily as it will cut meat or vegetables.

Susan,

Like the others have said, one of the best values are the Forschner/Victorinox knives.

They have been consistently rated best values by Cooks Illustrated.

They are light, have good handles, stay sharp and are easy to sharpen, when needed. They are pretty inexpensive - hence the best value rating.

I own about 10 different makes and models. Here is a photo of the ones I use the most:



The bread knife can also be used as a tomato knife. I would guess I used the 7" chef's knife the most. At about $20 it's a deal.

John

hey doc...are you by any chance a surgeon? :laugh:..cuzz I would think a surgeon would be a good reference for knives

I would recommend Forchner Victrinox also. I have a set that my girlfriend bought me and they are great. They hold an edge and are very sharp. They are also less inexpensive as many of the lesser quality knives out there. I will warn you though if you have been using that knife, use extreme caution when using a SHARP knife. Good luck.

make sure to hold a global deba in your hand, its lighter than most but its single bevel design makes it sharper than most. its a great vegatable knife and does a great job as a chef knife as well. this is an extremely sharp knife thats practicle for alot of uses, the con side is it doesnt cut straight thru large things like a head of cabbage. it will cut a hundred paper thin slices out of half an onion. some like a heavey knife, i would rather have this one with a thin single bevel for most prep work, especially with vegetables. they come right and left handed, you would want the bevel facing out when you hold the knife. as a side note, dont use a steel with japanese single bevel knifes

I got a Global for X-mas and very happy with it so far. It's the G-16 10: chef knife. I debated back and forth between the 8" and 10" and finally went with the 10". I'm glad I did...I like the little extra length and think it helps me be a bit more precise with my slicing.